This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/388,049 filed Mar. 12, 2003, entitled “Method and Apparatus for High Rate Channel Access Control” now U.S Pat. No. 7,215,654, issued May 8,2007, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/293,564, filed on Apr. 15,1999 now U.S Pat. No. 6,567,420, issued May 20, 2003, and assigned to the assignee hereof and hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein.